When I develop recipes for Voeden, I often think back to what I ate and loved as a kid - the warm, comfort food that I crave - and then I make it healthier! It's really easy to do. Here are my top 3 upgrades:

1 - Upgrade the grains

Instead of white rice: wild rice, brown rice, quinoa or millet

Growing up, we'd eat a plate of white rice, butter, and brown sugar with a side of veggies - no joke! We would pat the rice flat with our fork to cover the entire plate, then spread butter on top, then sprinkle with brown sugar. I'd use my fork to make roads through the rice on my plate. It was my favorite dish ever (I mean obviously, all that sugar!).

Health Benefits: brown rice contains vitamins and minerals, and it enters the blood stream more slowly, providing longer lasting energy and no sugar crash. Maple syrup is a natural sugar that contains minerals, it still elevated the blood sugar but is slowed down by the fiber, fat and protein in this dish. Broccoli - obviously. :) And chickpeas or chicken offer protein and grounding energy.

Instead of regular pastas: soba noodles or quinoa pasta - these pasta contain more protein and nutrients than regular or even wheat pasta, giving our bodies more stable long lasting energy and no pasta fog.

Instead of white flour: spelt flour or chickpea flour (GF). Spelt flour does contain gluten, but less of it, plus it has more protein, vitamins and minerals. Chickpea flour is gluten free and makes a sweet pizza crust. We also use chickpea to thicken creamy sauces in some of our recipes - like our pot pie.

Not Yo Mama's Pasta - soba noodles instead of white pasta, and veggies added to the pasta water at the end of cooking.

My mom used to make a creamy veggie and chicken noodle bowl that I just loooooved. I'm sure there was heavy cream and white noodles in there. So here, I use coconut milk to get that creaminess going, which also adds healthy fats for brain health. And quinoa noodles for extra protein and nutrients instead of white or wheat noodles. This one is a subscriber favorite!